February 28, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Russian forces control routes into Bakhmut and it’s only a matter of time until the city falls into Russian hands, according to an adviser to the head of self-declared, pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic.

“Now the fighters are already working in the city, almost in the central district, they have approached it,” Yan Gagin told Russian state broadcaster Russia 1 on Tuesday.

“There is almost complete control of all the routes along which either new fighters for rotation, ammunition or new equipment can be brought in," he said.

“It is already clear that Ukraine has lost Artemovsk (the Russian name for Bakhmut). The only question is when it will happen,” added Gagin.

CNN could not independently verify Gagin’s claims, but Ukrainian military commanders have in the past 24 hours described a worsening situation in Bakhmut, calling it “extremely tense” and “extremely difficult.”

Ukrainian President Zelensky said in his nightly address on Monday that the situation in the Eastern Ukrainian city was getting “more and more challenging.”

"The enemy is constantly destroying everything that can be used to protect our positions, to secure and defend it," Zelensky said, soon after military commanders spoke of hundreds of Russian strikes in the area.

Russia's new territorial "realities" cannot be infringed upon during possible talks with Kyiv, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. 

"There are certain realities, I mean the new Russian territories, there is the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which cannot be ignored, which the Russian side will never be able to infringe upon. These are very important realities," Peskov told reporters during a regular call.

"The main thing is to achieve our goals, this is our priority for sure," he added. 

When asked how favorable the present moment is for these negotiations, Peskov replied:

"Currently, probably no one can ascertain the signals from the Ukrainian side. At the moment, we proceed from the impossibility de jure for the Ukrainian side to negotiate on this matter. We proceed from this."

German-made Leopard tanks have been spotted near Bakhmut, according to an advisor to the head of the self-declared pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic.

“There have been claims that Leopards have appeared near Artemovsk (the Russian name for Bakhmut),” Yan Gagin told state broadcaster Russia 1 on Tuesday.

Gagin went on to downplay the presence of the tanks near the frontline.

“There is no need to sensationalize this. Given the muddy weather now, it will make it difficult for heavy vehicles like the Leopard to move,” he said. “[It] is the same armored target as all the others.”

CNN could not independently verify Gagin’s claims, but European officials have said previously that the first donated Leopard 2 tanks have begun arriving in Ukraine.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has accused Ukraine of attempting a drone attack against civilian infrastructure in the Krasnodar region of Russia.

“UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) were suppressed by the electronic warfare units of the RF (Russian Federation) Armed Forces,” said the Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD), adding that none of the drones hit their target.

“Both drones lost control and deviated from their flight path. One UAV fell in a field, and another UAV, deviating from the trajectory, did not harm the attacked civilian infrastructure facility,” the MOD statement read.

Social media video geolocated by CNN showed a fire at a Rosfnet oil depot in Tuapse, on the Krasnodar region’s Black Sea coast. It’s unclear if the facility was the intended target, but Ukraine has previously targeted oil depots within Russian-controlled territory.

CNN could not independently confirm if Ukraine was behind the alleged attack and Ukraine did not immediately comment on the incident. Ukraine has in the past declined to comment on similar operations.

Finland and Sweden's applications to join the NATO military alliance is a “top priority," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday.

“The time is now to ratify and to fully welcome both Finland and Sweden as members,” he said at a joint presser with Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Helsinki. 

“It is inconceivable that there would be any threat against Finland or Sweden without NATO reacting,” he added. 

Stoltenberg went on to say that, so far, Finland and Sweden have had the “quickest accession process in NATO’s modern history.” 

Both countries applied for membership in May last year, and in June all NATO allies agreed to invite both countries to join the alliance and set out accession protocols. 

So far, 28 out of the 30 allies have ratified both Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO. Only Hungary and Turkey have not yet done so.    

The Hungarian parliament have made it clear they will start discussion within a few days, according to Stoltenberg. 

Stoltenberg added that Turkey had expressed some concerns about the countries’ accession, mainly concerning Sweden. 

More on NATO bids: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday that his country's talks with Sweden and Finland on the Nordic countries’ NATO accession bid will resume on March 9.

Finnish PM Marin was clear on her country's reasons for joining the alliance, saying that the "NATO line is the only line that Russia wouldn’t cross.” 

Marin said that those countries which have not yet ratified Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership are “a burden to NATO.” 

“Because we are fulfilling the criteria, there shouldn’t be any problems when it comes to our membership,” she said, adding that she hopes Hungary and Turkey will ratify soon. 

Stoltenberg also added that Ukraine “will become a member of our alliance… but that is a long-term perspective.” 

Russian President Vladimir Putin will have a "serious conversation" with the country's Federal Security Service (FSB) on Tuesday, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The role of the service "can hardly be overestimated" in the present time, Peskov added during a regular call with reporters. 

"Putin will take part in the meeting of the Board of the Federal Security Service today. The President will make a speech, part of which will be open," Peskov said. 

"There will also be a part behind closed doors as is traditionally the case, a big voluminous speech by FSB Director Bortnikov in the presence of the president."

"Mainly, it will be about summing up last year's results of the [FSB] service and setting the outlooks for the upcoming year."

On Monday, a statement from the Kremlin revealed that Putin will take part in a meeting of the Board of the Federal Security Service, during which "the results of the operational and service activities of the FSB bodies in 2022 will be summed up and priority tasks for 2023 will be identified."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been informed of the temporary closure of the St. Petersburg airport, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Peskov refused to provide any further details but did say that city authorities and the military would provide an update later.

Russian state news agency RIA reported that airspace restrictions around St. Petersburg had been lifted following the closure.

Flight tracking websites showed aircraft taking off from Pulkovo airport again after operations had been suspended.

Earlier Tuesday, the city government had said that the airport was not accepting any flights until noon local time. And state news agencies RIA and TASS reported that the airspace in a 200-kilometer (125-mile) radius of the city had been closed until 13:20 local time.

Flight tracking services showed flights turning around and returning to their departure airport.

The announcements came after reports of an unidentified object in the air, but authorities have not confirmed the reason for the closure.

Russian radios and TV channels sounded air raid sirens and displayed warnings after they were hacked on Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement.

“The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia informs that this information is false and does not correspond to reality.”

Social media videos showed radios playing air raid sirens after the hack, which is the second in quick succession after the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported a similar incident last week.

Air raid sirens have become a common feature of life in Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion.

The father of a US Army veteran who was killed fighting for Ukraine earlier this month said Ukrainian commanders had warned his son that Russia’s invasion resembled “World War I or II” before he enlisted in the country's defense.

Andrew Peters, 28, died in action on Feb. 16 while serving with Ukraine's International Legion of Defense. 

His father, John Peters, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Monday that "we did our homework" researching the unit, which was created by President Volodymyr Zelensky to allow foreign citizens to join the Ukrainian resistance against Russian occupation and fight for global security.

“There were a number of guys who left after hearing that, but Andrew was like, 'no I’m going to stick this out. I’m going to finish this.'"

Andrew Peters, from Marshfield, Wisconsin, had served a tour with the US Army in Afghanistan prior to joining Ukraine's war effort.

In the interview, his father said he was “like any other average 28-year-old American,” and someone with a “very strong sense of what was right and wrong.”